About 20 pieces of needlepoint art by Teresa Faber are on display through the end of the week at Tiffin-Seneca Public Library.
A graduate of Columbian High School, Faber said she learned sewing and cross-stitch from her mom, Ruth Reinhart.
"She taught me and both my sisters," Faber said. "I've been doing it for as long as I can remember. I started, I think, when I was in elementary school."
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PHOTO BY MARYANN KROMER
An angel guarding a sleeping child was especially challenging for Teresa Faber.
The stay-at-home mom said she also does a lot of machine sewing and crafts.
Faber said she tends to use kits or prepared patterns for counted cross-stitch. In high school, she tried a few small projects using patterns she made herself.
Because many stores in the area no longer carry craft supplies, Faber said she gets her materials online and from shops such as Hobby Lobby and Jo-Ann Fabrics. She said she chooses designs that "catch my eye."
Three of her works honor the births of three sons - Nathan and Noah, 11, and Samuel, 5. Although her twins were born three months premature, each weighing less than 2 pounds, they have overcome their early challenges. Teresa and her husband, Don, also had a stillborn daughter about 10 years ago.
When the family had a house fire a few years ago, she had to make some of her pieces a second time.
Two needlepoints depicting angels indicate Faber's spiritual side.
A set of three needlepoint "paintings" of children on the beach with seashells had been intended for her sons' bathroom, but she decided to keep them herself. Sometimes, the finished piece becomes a gift for a special occasion, such as a wedding or the birth of a child.
Her cross-stitch of a home received a best of show award at the 2008 Seneca County Fair.
"My latest that I gave away was the Air Force symbol. One of my best friends, her son enlisted in the Air Force, so I made the symbol for her. She really liked it. She was thrilled with it," Faber said.
Needlepoint patterns are prepared with numbers to indicate the number of cross-stitches per inch. The bigger numbers indicate smaller stitches.
Faber said dark-colored thread on a dark background makes it more difficult to count the correct number of cross-stitches.
Faber pointed out a sunset scene in shades of brown and copper.
"I started that in 1993. I went to England, and I took that piece with me to sew on the airplane," Faber said. "That was actually the first big piece I ever did."
Faber said her mother has given up cross-stitch for more crocheting and machine sewing, while her father, Paul Reinhart, is a wood carver.
"I got the artistic talent from both sides, my dad and my mom," Faber said.
